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How was the Malibu ride? I signed up for the LA River Ride last night. Gonna take a crack at my second century.

Didn't end up going night before was "interesting" got home at 3am kind of good time. We did however ride from Pasadena in to downtown LA. I lead her through highland park which has a couple of good hills on Broadway.

Sounds awesome I might need to look in to that. Might do my first big group ride this weekend we'll see if my friend gets back to me in time.

I've had intermittent allergies the last few years after basically having none for the first 40ish years of my life. When they're acting up, I actually feel better if I go for a ride. I think there are two reasons: one, my rides are often at the beach, which probably has fewer allergens in the air, and two, the adrenal response from the exercise clears out my sinuses and I stop sniffling and sneezing while I'm riding.

Not sure that does you any good. I only tell you because I generally like finding reasons not to take pills.

I'm 39 just started getting seasonal allergies last year, riding does help me too.

The bike I purchased came pre-wired for the Shimano Flight Deck (cadence, gear, speed, distance, etc.). It's missing the computer head which runs about $70. Would a cheaper, almost as effective, alternative be to use an app on my Android phone? I'm thinking of Strava, in particular.

Ipbike: Most versatile app, developed by a one man programming genius. The UI appears to be a bit clunky, but it gives you the most amount of control. Plus you can upload your results to other apps like Strava or Training Peaks if you want. I use this app because it runs ANT+ which is required to read my Powertap wheel. Really great app, gives you the most amount of data and options for exporting said data. But I will admit it appears somewhat crude until you figure it out (read the instructions and blog).

Ride with GPS: Best UI, and all around solid app. Extremely intuitive, I'd use this solely if I didn't need the ANT+ compatibility.

Strava: I really don't run Strava anymore, no particular reason....it just seems somewhat primitive when compared to the other 2 above. Yes the social media aspect of it is great and I occasionally still upload my results from Ipbike (have a few friends on Strava). But I don't really get off on comparing my times with others (which is Strava's strong point)

I made a good attempt at using a phone for a cycle computer this year, let's just say it did not go so well.

First I bought a stem mount from Topeak for my iPhone 4s. Phone is very secure with this mount and easily accessible.

I then downloaded a few different apps to try, Strava, Cyclemeter, MapMyRide, etc. No cadence but average speed, current speed, distance, time, route are available.

The downfall was battery life, it just absolutely kills my battery to use this stuff. Was fine for 50-70 miles or so but anything longer and it is gonna die. Gets even worse if you get outside of town a fair distance and it has to search harder for service. And that was with the screen off, never looked at it. It would be dead very quickly if you left the screen on so you could actually see your stats. Then the major problem is, you are out in the middle of nowhere with a dead phone. Not real comfy being 50 miles from home in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact anyone.

I really wanted it to work but it just isn't there yet. Maybe in a few years when batteries get better. My solution was the Suunto Ambit 2, works great for me as I am a triathlete. If I were going to get something for just biking I would get a Garmin Edge.

List of parts I carry in my saddle bag to get me home in case of most common breakdowns.....I'm not sure they sell a ready made kit (it may well exist, but I've never seen one). You'll most likely have to buy them individually

I made a good attempt at using a phone for a cycle computer this year, let's just say it did not go so well.

First I bought a stem mount from Topeak for my iPhone 4s. Phone is very secure with this mount and easily accessible.

I then downloaded a few different apps to try, Strava, Cyclemeter, MapMyRide, etc. No cadence but average speed, current speed, distance, time, route are available.

The downfall was battery life, it just absolutely kills my battery to use this stuff. Was fine for 50-70 miles or so but anything longer and it is gonna die. Gets even worse if you get outside of town a fair distance and it has to search harder for service. And that was with the screen off, never looked at it. It would be dead very quickly if you left the screen on so you could actually see your stats. Then the major problem is, you are out in the middle of nowhere with a dead phone. Not real comfy being 50 miles from home in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact anyone.

I really wanted it to work but it just isn't there yet. Maybe in a few years when batteries get better. My solution was the Suunto Ambit 2, works great for me as I am a triathlete. If I were going to get something for just biking I would get a Garmin Edge.

Agreed that battery life can be a major drawback for some.....for someone riding your distances consistently, a dedicated device would definitely be the way to go.

Bike was shifting really poorly in the back and making an intermittent grindy/creaky noise that I figured to be the bottom bracket. Took it to LBS, they said they fixed. Rode it some more, same issues. So I put the GoPro on so they could see/hear what it was doing.

Rear derailleur now adjusted properly.

However, they think the grindy/creaky noise (from 5:00 to end of video) is from the rear hub. The rear hub bearings are definitely pretty much toast. With the wheel off, if you spin the hub, it's crunchy, not smooth at all.

- Replace with the same or very similar hub? Or something else you guys recommend?

- Replace myself or have LBS replace?

- Replace myself and then just have LBS true the wheel?

I ride for fitness and do some long-ish distance charity rides. I don't race, so the last few grams don't matter much to me. I'm a heavy guy, so I ask a lot of the wheels on the bike. I've been out of work for a while, so I'm not really looking to toss a zillion dollar wheelset on the bike right now.

That's odd though because I've never had a wheel bearing go out and I've put them through hell. Even my 80's mountain bike with many years and thousands of miles is still on the original cartridge bearings.